Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's bid for English Premier League club Manchester City will not be blocked by Thai authorities despite his ongoing corruption probe and asset freeze, officials have said.

Manchester City on Thursday recommended its shareholders accept a £81.6 million pound takeover by Thaksin, who made the official bid even as Thai authorities acted to freeze much of his wealth inside Thailand.

Noppadol Patama, Thaksin's lawyer and de facto spokesman in Thailand, described the deposed leader's reaction to the team's recommendation as "ecstatic."

With Thaksin battling to preserve his political and business legacy after his ouster in a September military coup, there has been speculation that the bid is an attempt to keep a high profile as he remains in exile, splitting his time between London and travel around Asia.

"I thought he just wanted to remain in the headlines. We have seen examples of businessmen who lost a lot of money in trying to improve soccer teams; it's not something that pays off immediately," said Tawan Daengtaptip, a soccer reporter at Siam Sports Magazine.

"And if you know Thaksin like Thai people do, you know he is not that stupid. But now that the deal is progressing, maybe there is something more to it than we think. Maybe he is looking for a place to park his money."

Thaksin became a telecommunications billionaire before entering politics and serving as prime minister in 2001-2006.

Government officials were chiefly concerned with how the deal affects the freeze of his assets in Thailand and corruption charges.

"It's proof that the anti-graft agencies have only frozen assets that were believed to have been acquired through corrupt means," said Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, spokesman for the military council that overthrew Thaksin and helps run the country.

"He still has a lot of money and can move around, making big business deals like this. That's his private matter. We will not interfere," Sansern told The Associated Press.

In the past two weeks, a military-established anti-graft panel, the Assets Examination Committee, has ordered more than 60 billion baht (£1 million) of Thaksin's wealth frozen on suspicion it was gained illicitly.

"He may still have enough to buy the soccer team and it's his right to do whatever business he wants," committee spokesman Sak Korseangruang said. "I don't know how much money he has outside Thailand and what his intentions are in buying the team."

Nattawut Saikua, a former executive of Thaksin's now-dissolved Thai Rak Thai Party, said he believed the new deal was not political.

"He is a renowned businessman who has a very sharp business sense. I am sure he saw a business opportunity in the club," said Nattawut, who has been helping organize protests against the military council that deposed the former prime minister.

"At the same time, I think he does this with Thai soccer fans - especially younger ones - in mind as well, so they can be proud of what the leading businesspeople in our country can accomplish."

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Thaksin and Pojaman will be charged next week with making fraudulent filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission over the 2003 listing of a property company owned by his family. If they fail to appear, police could issue an arrest warrant.

Today, Thai prosecutors laid formal criminal corruption charges against Thaksin in a different case linked to a land purchase in 2003.